The nation’s first system for controlling greenhouse gases (GHG) and financing energy efficiency through the auction of emission allowances faces serious challenges as it enters its fourth year of operation.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) was the first mandatory system in the United States to require fossil fuel-based electricity generators to purchase emissions allowances for every ton of greenhouse gas emitted. The program has achieved a great deal as it completes its third year of operation, but it faces some major challenges too.
New Jersey’s governor has announced that his state will leave the program, citing too cheap emission allowances and other actions New Jersey is taking to reduce GHG emissions. In New Hampshire, the governor used his veto power to prevent the state from withdrawing from the program, saying withdrawal would be costly to taxpayers.
The full article is featured in the September/October issue of Sustainable Communities magazine, you can download the full magazine for $12, or become a member of PSC and receive both print and downloadable copies of Sustainable Communities magazine 6 times a year, plus all of the other benefits of membership.
